The Clan Currie Society and Pipes of Christmas has made a $2,500 donation to the American Red Cross and we encourage you to join with us and make your own donation today. There could be no better time as the Holiday Season approaches for us all to demonstrate our commitment to one another than by reaching out to those in need. Please make a donation now, every dollar helps. www.redcross.org
The Pipes of Christmas will celebrate its fourteenth season with performances in New York and New Jersey this December. The holiday favorite, produced by the Clan Currie Society, opens on Saturday, December 15 at the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church, located at 921 Madison Avenue (at 73rd Street) with performances at 2 and 7PM. The concert moves across the Hudson River on Sunday, December 16 to Central Presbyterian Church located at 70 Maple Street in Summit, NJ for a 3PM performance.
Please join with us if you can at a performance of Pipes of Christmas, December 15 & 16, where we can celebrate the Holidays together.
The concert presents the music of Christmas accompanied by readings taken from the Celtic literature of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. Featured performers include James Robinson from the film “Braveheart,” New England fiddle champion Paul Woodiel, “Riverdance” piper Christopher Layer, Gaelic Mod champion harpist Jennifer Port of Golspie, Scotland, and the Pipe Major Kevin Ray Blandford Memorial Pipe Band.
Tickets for the NY concert may also be purchased online at www.smarttix.com or by phone at (212) 868-4444. Reserved patron seats are available at both venues.
Acclaimed Gaelic tenor Paul McCallum from the island of South Uist in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides will be making his New York debut in the 2012 concerts. Jeff Rickard, Emeritus Professor of Music from the University of Redlands and former “Pipes” organist for the past 12 years makes his debut as music director.
The concert will also feature the world premier of “Sea of Tranquility,” specially commissioned to honor the memory of astronaut Neil Armstrong. The piece is written by Scottish composer James Ross of Wick, Scotland. The concert will also mark HM Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee with a new work composed by Steve Gibb of Inverness, Scotland.
Proceeds from the concerts support a growing music scholarship program which includes annual gifts to the National Piping Centre and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (both located in Glasgow,) the Gaelic College of Nova Scotia and Lyon College in Batesville, Arkansas. The Clan Currie Society is also the Title Sponsor of the US National Scottish Harp Championship.
Commenting on the Society’s music scholarship program, stage and screen star Alan Cumming said, “I am delighted that proceeds from the Pipes of Christmas will result in these important gifts which ensure that the future of Scottish culture is safer with these generous scholarships.”
Named one of New York City’s “Top Ten” holiday events, the 2012 concerts are made possible by generous gifts from Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, Scotland, and the Grand Summit Hotel.
Tickets Available Now
General admission tickets start at $50 and are available via mail order. A downloadable ticket order form can be found on the concert’s website at www.pipesofchristmas.com. Tickets for the NY concert may also be purchased online at www.smarttix.com or by phone at (212) 868-4444. Reserved patron seats are available at both venues.
About “The Pipes of Christmas”
Since making its debut in 1999, The Pipes of Christmas has played to standing room only audiences. Now a cherished holiday event, the concert provides audiences with a stirring and reverent celebration of the Christmas season and the Celtic spirit. Audience-goers return year after year to experience the program, many reporting that the Pipes of Christmas has become part of their family’s annual Christmas tradition.
The concert has been lavished with critical acclaim. In his review for Classical New Jersey Magazine, Paul Somers wrote, “The whole evening was constructed to introduce gem after gem and still have a finale which raised the roof. In short, it was like a well constructed fireworks show on the Glorious Fourth. The Westfield (NJ) Leader described the concert as “a unique sound of power and glory nowhere else to be found.”
“One of New York City’s Top Ten Holiday Events”
- NYC Top Ten
“The musical experience was thrilling”
- Classical NJ Magazine
“A majestic seasonal experience”
- The Star Ledger
“A beautiful afternoon of uplifting music celebrating the Christmas story”
- Adventures in the Endless Pursuit of Entertainment
“Perhaps one of the most delightful Christmas programs
to enjoy in New York – we simply won’t miss it.”
- Fred Bisset, 96th President, St. Andrew’s Society of the State of New York
Photo: The Kevin Ray Blandford Memorial Pipe Band of Redlands, CA returns to the NY area for three performances of the Pipes of Christmas this December. Photo by Warren Westura.
1 Comment
please send price of tickets for the Dec. 16th Concert